No one is born with their future written in stone; it took me years to find my own path. Looking back I can see now what I couldn’t see then, that the tiniest inspiration, if you love it enough, can be the gateway to a future. For instance, don’t laugh, (and most of you probably already know) but I always got an A in handwriting. At the time, no one got very excited about that (although, when I was around fifteen, my dad did take something I wrote to work to show his co-workers, something the daughter will never forget ♥), but really, how much more insignificant could an “achievement” be? Would you ever imagine there could be a life in handwriting? Me, either.
But yes, it can happen. Which, by the way, means anything can happen! This is the top of my calendar page for March 2011. (Musica? Oui!) It’s a celebration of good old-fashioned letter writing. I love my grandma’s old letters that all start with “Sue Darling;” my old boyfriend’s 
letters; all the letters from my best friend Diana when I left California to move to Martha’s Vineyard. Our letters flew back and forth and now they’re like little diaries. They never get old; their details capture and hold on to a moment in time like almost nothing else. Except for the photos, everything on that calendar page was either written or painted by hand. The old letter in the upper left was one written by a beau to Joe’s great, great grandmother in 1881. On the right, is the front, inside, and back of a card I wrote to my grandmother when I was eight. As you can see, I was so excited to get to the p.s., I almost forgot to sign my name first! I’ve always been a P.S. Person!
Goodbye cursive? Get outta here! They’ve been talking about taking cursive out of schools. I saw this newspaper in a gas station while traveling last fall and practically cried before I ran to get the camera! My sister says the school her eight-year-old twins go to is no longer teaching cursive! Luckily my little nephews are amazing artists; they want to know how to do cursive and Shelly, my sister, teaches them.
Learning cursive was the first connection between my brain, a pencil, and whatever artistic talent I had; learning to move the pencil just so to draw letters, to make a little curl on an E, to bend the top of a T took the same sort of concentration and creative thought as drawing a flower or a house. I don’t know if it happened that way for other artists — but what if it was the same thing for some of the most talented artists, for example, like Monet, or DaVinci (who taught himself to write cursive backwards!), or John Singer Sargent? What if it was??? No pencil, no connection = just maybe, no art. Children see the learning of handwriting the same way they see art, learning to form their letters is like learning to draw. If you can make a letter, maybe you can make a rainbow. Not every child is going to be an artist, but what about the ones that would?
And for sure, two out of these three books could never have been written if it wasn’t for cursive. Not to mention the Declaration of Independence, which wouldn’t have been half so interesting or informative if it had been written perfectly, on a computer, all mistakes and cross-outs deleted.
I have nothing against a printed book, love love love them in fact, but
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
this kind of book makes me feel history more than any printed book could ever do. Rachel (we met as pen pals and now we are dear friends for twenty years; go say hello if you have time!) sent me this old diary she found for sale in an antiquarian bookstore in England where she lives; she knew it would be my cup of tea, and she was so right!
This diary was written by a twelve-year-old British girl named Alice. She writes about her lessons with “mademoiselle,” about her dog, about teatime and what she ate; and about how much she whistles, which is practically every night. She really loves to whistle! “Dec. 4, 1906 Nothing special today, whistled in the evening.” It’s a little treasure; she might have thought it was “nothing special” but it is to me. I wonder what she was like as a grown woman?
♥ ♥ ♥
I would love to have known Margaret Cavendish! And, just imagine, no this:
I have no doubt at all that Nancy Luce’s writings and little books were inspired by her simple everyday school life here on the island, learning to make her letters. Despite her illness and loneliness, she still managed, through her handwriting (and her heart), to become the most famous person on Martha’s Vineyard in the late 1800’s.
This was part of my diary entry for January 19, 1978; the first time I broached the question of how “real” writing was done. Sometimes people tell me they don’t want to use their handwriting in their scrapbooks and on recipe cards because they think it’s so bad. Could it be any worse than this? Would it really matter? Wouldn’t a great, great, great grandchild love seeing any kind of handwriting at all, as long as it belonged to you? (Yes, they would, I know this for a fact.♥)
And you know what else? Without cursive, here would be no more of these!! How terrible! Kitchen scrapbooks, all gone!
So, I’ve decided to declare this day, March 10th, as “I Love Cursive Day” for all of us who do. P.S. In England, there’s a fine attempt at using Cursive in the 21st century way at www.inkly.com! Go see!
♥ ♥ ♥
X O X O X O
Cursive writing….how I labored with that in elementary school. My mom had me practicing ‘O’s and loopy ‘L’s….at the time, I just didn’t see the purpose or any progress for that matter. Fast forward to today and I so appreciate ‘handwriting’. I’ve kept all the letters sent to me at GS Camp from my grandmothers, aunt, mom & dad. All written with their own special flair. I think a rubber stamp is in order…..Long Live Cursive Writing….or, A Letter is Forever! What do you think, Sue??? xoxo peg
I have made it my goal since the first grade to use good handwriting……I could choose a new goal now perhaps. I enjoy the use of handwriting in whatever I am doing when I write, with little ditties drawn along side. I find myself wanting to become Better, and use water colors as Susan does as it is Super inspirational.
I am now 81 years old and learned cursive writing from day one in school. I am German born and we had exercise books with lines drawn to learn to kep the
letters at the right height and dimensions.
I loved writing and and is still with me today. Of course we used inkwells and nibs.
Even in the 1930 the pens were ergonomically shaped i.e. bulbous at the bottom end.
Today I still use the fountain pen. Nothing can beat it, the way it glides across the paper without effort.
Letters are in decline which is tragic. When I think of the story of man and how much has been deducted from their correspondence.
It will be difficult to trace their history for the lack of writing letters.
You are so right that letters are forever.
Lovely memories, thank you so much, Horst!
Writing has a very long history. It began as simple pictographs drawn on a rock, which was then combined to represent ideas and developed into more abstract symbols. facebook.com/Penkraft555/posts/2029222574018443
I too, will be so sad if they quit teaching cursive. I love looking at other people’s handwriting. I used to marvel at the way my dad signed his name on the papers I brought home from school back in the day when teachers had parents sign papers to show they had seen them. 🙂 You could tell he took pride in his handwriting; his signature was graceful, yet strong.
Not teaching cursive writing in schools makes me more than sad. I teach developmental math at university, and many students who have never learned cursive writing struggle so much with writing mathematical symbols and showing their work in general. I agree with you that cursive writing is like an art form and feel that it helps develop finely tuned hand-eye coordination. The brain also works differently when we are writing by hand versus typing. This is a crucial art form that shouldn’t be denied to anyone!
So right. When I write a letter by hand, or anything, it just has something different to it than when I type it. If I type something, I print it out and rewrite it in handwriting, so I can fix the coldness in the type! Strange but true.
SBranch, I have forever been one of your strongest cheer leaders and I certainly back you on the cursive writing issue. I support it for all the reasons listed above and 6 million more! I have letters written by my great grandfather, who was a doctor in the Civil War. They were written to his wife and are so precious. The history our family would have missed without those letters! Please take up the cause____many will join you!
How lucky you are! What treasures! Thank you Ann! I do the best I can to keep the cursive issue alive, hand-writing my books being my biggest hint! 🙂
Susan, I just love to write and always got “A’s” for my writing at school….I am with you to save and keep cursive writing alive. My granddaughter who is 7 keeps on about cursive and is proud to show me that she can join up the letters of her name. I will encourage her to write as I was taught to write many years ago. I too have a letter which I have kept from my granddad who lived in England. That letter is very precious to me as I never met him as I live in Canada. I do keep a diary and one day my grandchildren will be able to read them looking at my handwriting!!
That’s wonderful . . . and I love that your granddaughter is so interested — to them, handwriting is just like drawing birds! And they are so creative!
Susan, There is something special about “love you can hold in your hand.” I keep all my special old letters and reread them from time to time–thus keeping their caring gifts alive in my heart. What treasures they are–and what historical reminders of past “good moments.” I do not want to even imagine a world without letters, cards, and all the small reminders that someone, somewhere valued us enough to brighten our day.
Susan,
When I learned to write in cursive, the curves and loops were a life line between me and my teacher. Every improvement brought that sought after compliment from a lady who I thought made the world spin. As she wrote her name in cursive across the chalk board you would swear you could hear angels sing. So beautiful, so effortless and with such precision. I still find myself, at 45, practicing my signature and thinking of her.
Where would we be without our inspiring teachers!
Yes, Susan….handwriting is certainly an art! I love it! The little children in my Pre-school class are just early handwriters, and we practice every morning! xoxo Love that!
That makes a very sweet picture in my mind! Thanks Sherry!
You are so welcome Susan…and I’m so happy you back home in your little cute home! Loved every blog about gardens in England too…soooo inspiring…even though I have 2 little gardens…I am blessed to have them!xoxo
Hi Susan, I am a Kindergarten teacher who has always loved to write and print. I also see the wonderful art possibilities in every letter. When I print with my Kindergarten students, I’m filled with joy and tender amusement as the tongues stick out in concentration, and the little feet scramble under the desks: the braver ones start to make art with their letters round about April!
Love hearing that!!!
Love this post, because I love old-fashioned writing and letters and journals and recipes and love notes (paper sack, dry erase, chalkboard, fine stationery…). My girlfriend of 30 yrs and I have written back-and-forth all that time. Yesterday I got a nine-page letter in my mailbox, complete with her own stamped stationery. Darlingest!!! My very favorite pen is a MontBlanc vintage fountain pen. I lose it often and pray like crazy because I must not live without it. 🙂 It just fits in my hand so sweetly. Anyhoo, my next antiquing spree will be for a small basket with lid, so that I can copy your picture above, and have some of my old letters on my huge desk, reminding me I am loved! Yay! Ciao
I understand about loving certain pens! Good luck finding your perfect basket!
PS… Have you ever read this?
amazon.com/The-Long-Letter-Elizabeth-Spurr/dp/0786812028
No, is it good?
Oh, Thank you for the declaration! It is finally time to get Cursive and Hand Writing lifted up from their humiliating state. I am going to mark the date down in my calendar right now!
It’ll be Sunday… 🙂
We do still teach cursive in my school but it isn’t required that the students use it all the time. It is a shame that such beautiful writing seems to be going to the side.
Computers, the good, the bad, and the ugly! Love em and really don’t love em!
I say if you are going to teach cursive, make it fun. Read how we make cursive instruction fun at new-in-room-202.blogspot.com.
They “must” continue with hand writing, I was just thinking about this the other day! We will be reverting back in time…what would or wouldn’t their signature look like! Or would there even be a signature anymore! There will never be anything that can replace a hand written letter in the mail!!
Blessings,
Gert
Or diaries!
I am a teacher, and I am horrified at the idea of not teaching cursive anymore. We are getting so far away from the basics that children need to know. I see the effects of his every day. (I teach high school.) All of those seemingly insignificant things that we learned in school – nursery rhymes, songs, tricks for learning multiplication tables, and cursive writing – have fallen by the wayside and it is taking its toll on our kids. I love seeing beautiful handwriting, like in Susan’s books. Hopefully, some teachers will teach it anyway. We teachers often teach what we believeshould be taught, not just what we are told should be taught. 🙂
Good for you!!
I have always loved handwriting — and mine used to be so pretty! But now I have a tremor that makes my handwriting look so awful, it breaks my heart. 🙁
I’m so sorry! I keep hoping all the things I do to my hand won’t just wear it out.
I remember about 7th grade learning that some people wrote with a different handwriting than I had been taught–a cute back slant, very cute little circles to dot “i” with. Big fat puffy capital P’s. Oh what joy to try those! It was an artistic and individual expression. And to learn that I could create my own capital T, do a capital G like a small g only bigger. What freedom! What creativity! We not only write our minds, but the way we write expresses so much. I would hate to not have learned cursive handwriting! I can’t imagine adults promoting no handwriting!
fyi, January 23 is National Handwriting Day, in honor of John Hancock’s birthday who was the first signer of the Declaration of Independence. Write on!!
Write on Sandy! And I have to say, I almost changed my name to Suzi, just so I could dot the i with a heart! 🙂
I love it!!
Delighted to have come across a fellow lover of handwriting. What a lovely page. You’ll be glad to know that in England handwriting is still taught in schools (for the moment!). But I fear the time will come soon when it will be dropped in favour of keyboarding. In my part of England (Cumbria) local agricultural shows include arts and crafts competitions which incorporates handwriting.
Handwriting certainly is more personal than a typed letter.
Talking about cursive,i thought I would never learn to write quickly.
It was slow going for me.
Practice is always the key for anything artistic, even handwriting!
What a fun comment thread to read through. I am glad there are still people who believe handwriting is an art that holds value.
I’m sure it was my first connection … making pretty letters was just like drawing!
Today, in my local hometown newspaper, on the editorial page, is an article which goes along with the handwriting not being taught in schools. It is actually about what we as Americans are losing by going strictly with digital/electronic communication. Imagine that if only emails are sent between two friends or family members that with the simple push of a button, all of your correspondence can be deleted (erased, so to speak) or should a computer-glitch hit, you can lose everything–pictures, emails, etc. What is at stake is History, written history, because when the computer fails, or files are lost you have nothing–no record. There is a whole generation being educated now, that can not write in cursive, or read cursive writing of their forebears. Too sad to think that someday my grandchildren may not be able to read what I written in the margins of my Bible, or letters to their parents, etc.
I honestly don’t think that will ever happen. I don’t think we are going to become so non-human as to quit knowing how to read and write. It doesn’t matter what I think, but I feel more happy choosing to think that than the other thing!
I have always been in love with cursive writing. In grade school I was an A student except handwriting! My competition was Karen and of course she had beautiful penmanship. So clever me…..I could draw and so I drew my letters to compete. Thanks Karen and Darlyne for all the encouragement. I am happy for the upcoming cursive and letter writing day in 2014.
I write to people and it does my heart and theirs good to give and receive them.
Good for you Bridget Anne — I’ve always thought letter-writing was a kind of art. Letters alone are good, pretty penmanship is the frosting on top!
Handwriting can have greater effect on Communication: Even in the age of technology, handwriting remains the primary tool of communication and knowledge assessment for students in the classroom.
art of penmaship will impact on Career development: Greater writing speed ‘’ lessens the burden on working memory’’ enabling children and adults to ‘’ create good reader-friendly prose’’ Children who experience difficulty mastering this skill (handwriting) may avoid writing altogether and decide that they cannot write, leading to arrested writing development.handwriting makes a person become relevant to an organisation: Good handwriting is important long after graduation. It has been observed that employers of labour are usually prejudiced against illegible handwriting and the better handwriting turned out to be better writers and always got the job.
Also, forming those first letters are just the same to a child as drawing a kitty or a house with a sun behind it. To them, it’s art, the very first for some, and a possible gateway to the creative soul.
Handwriting has always been important to me I think because it was taught so early in my schooling. The most beautiful handwriting I’ve seen recently was an older gentleman’s signature. He signed his documents for a loan with such precise penmanship, I was amazed! It looked like something out of the 1800’s. It was beautiful. So hurray for cursive! It is an art! I hope they never stop teaching it.
Hello Susan,
I came across your website as handwriting is a particular interest of mine. I am working on a project to revive interest in handwriting. I totally agree with the comments you have made regarding this. My plans are to set up writer’s circles and encourage people to display their handwritten words. I did set up a website, but what I am looking to do is to set up an offline community. If you are interested I can let you know how I get on. Very best regards
Paul
2 Western Avenue
Polegate
East Sussex
BN26 6EP
Yes, do that Paul — good luck! It sounds like it could be fun.
What I worry about in hand writing is spelling words wrong.
This is too funny! I picked a couple of blog posts from Susan’s archives to read on this last snowy afternoon of 2013. After thoroughly enjoying the mashed potatoes in the old silver bowl story of Thanksgiving from 2010 (see last entry of November 2010), the post I found next was this lovely one on the handwriting gift Susan has used to inspire many over the years (a gift which may have seemed rather insignificant at one point.) I see she chose a cover of the paper published in the small Midwest town I have lived in for the past 24 years to illustrate it: The Rockford Register Star! Some of these surprising moments of serendipity in life are just hard to explain! Now, I am curious who the Rockford resident who may have sent her this newspaper a couple of years ago is! 🙂
I simply adore neat handwriting and I’m a sucker for practicing it.
You have the soul of an artist.
I love writing. Period. I have two diaries with so many memories i can’t help but read them again from time to time. Writing is my passion. I enjoy writing in cursive and print. Writing is a gift, I’m thankful God gave me such a beautiful gift. I pray I will use it for good. 🙂
How wonderful you are keeping diaries Chloe. When you get as old as me you will have the whole thing in writing. I have something like 22 diaries now … not counting my dinner party diary or my English diary. It’s a wonderful way to keep those memories . . . and at the same time, practice writing and observing. Have fun!
Wow, this is great stuff! Hi Susan, my name’s Resa from Queensland in Australia. I was just doing some research on the art of handwriting and I stumbled upon your website. We are so caught up in the world of technology these days that not many people actually hand write anything anymore. I work as a creative writer for radio and a journalist for a magazine and of course we use computers for everything, I noticed just last week how bad my handwriting has become. I’m taking it upon myself to research the art and use it more in my everyday life, I want to compare the different era’s and how our way of writing and talking has changed. Very interesting stuff!
Hi Resa, so nice to meet you! I think what’s most interesting is the pencil-in-hand bit for “first art” for children. Learning to write (draw) one’s name, curve the letters just so, space them right, is, to them, the same as learning to draw a tree. To not do that anymore may be cutting off an avenue to expression. Thanks for stopping by!
I am late on reading this post, but I can write in cursive backwards. It is not hard. I liked to practice writing when I was young and taught myself. I am left handed and I feel that it makes it easier. I only have told a few people because it isn’t normal. You get some raised eyebrows.
Well, it might make you feel better to know that Leonardo da Vinci was a genius and he could write backwards too. There is a book we carry in our web store called Thinking Like Leonardo da Vinci that I think you might enjoy. It’s “not hard” for YOU. Very interesting, my eyebrows are raised too, they are as impressed as the rest of me. 🙂
“You need more flourish in your capitals”…..said a teacher while roaming the 1890’s classroom, observing his students as they practised their penmanship……can’t remember the book, but always remembered that phrase…..
My brother was telling me that he had heard this on PBR radio. We both graduated from parochial school in the 1960s and cursive was called penmanship. He had never heard of the term cursive! My penmanship teacher was Sister Maxima (and she’s a whole other story) and she had the most beautiful handwriting I have ever seen. She did calligraphy and wrote on the inside cover of my Daily Missal. Over the years it has disappeared but I have often wished I still had it. I have a friend, Sandy, in Shawnee, OK, who also does calligraphy and I have saved every card, envelope, bookmark, name plaque, etc., she has ever given me. I love revisting my collection of her work! I, too, consider handwriting an art. Long live cursive!
Love you!
P.S. I can write my name in cursive upside down and backwards!
Wow!
Just read your 7/19/14 blog and yes, I was one of those lucky guests to visit the West Falmouth Library last week to listen to you talk about, “A Fine Romance”. Bought the book and enjoying it all! Now catching up with your website and all the many offerings! Love it! Writing is so important in our society. Thinking that emails are taking the place of personal notes, letters, and invitations is so disappointing! Thank you for supporting the handwritten word! I must say I am curious though………
I am amazed at how you keep your lines straight! How do you do that?
Thank you for all your books, recipes, art work, etc.! BTW, I am old fashion and use your address book and love it…..on # two since I wore # one out!
Claire
I draw them on! Thank you Claire!
A very intriguing article indeed!
I just a few minutes ago found the verses of Silent Night written out in longhand in my mother’s handwriting when she was about 8 or 9 years old. How exciting!!! That would have been about 1934. Being so close to Christmas, I would love to find a way to preserve this writing and use it to decorate for the holidays. I have 6 remaining brothers and sisters. I’m also looking for ways to share it with them. If anyone has creative ideas they would like to share I would love to hear them. I’ve always been a little nervous when it comes to paper ephemra. It can be so easily lost forever! Thanks!
The best thing you can do is scan it in high resolution. Then you will have it forever. You can print it out on nice paper and frame it, or make cards with it . . . What a wonderful thing to find Sheri!
I also find it very sad that handwriting seems to be a dying art. I love handwriting and love getting handwritten letters as well. I just recently discovered how lovely and relaxing it is to study italic calligraphy. And, in the process, it has made it a joy to write in cursive.
As a student, I recall my handwriting being displayed in the school’s cafeteria board. I also received “A’s” in handwriting and pride myself with having beautiful penmanship. It is very sad, that kids do not know the art of great penmanship. As many have stated, it is not taught in school. One parent recently expressed how her middle school son did not understand the meaning of writing his signature. She was appalled. One 5th grade teacher expressed to me that when she wrote the class lesson on the board in cursive that one student interpreted the writing as a “foreign” language. Yes, cursive writing is not in our schools, how sad.
Hi Susan,
Handwriting is a way of communication we learn in schools. It is an achievement to have a good handwriting. I too am concerned about its future.
Thanks.
It’ll be up to moms and dads.
I felt the same way when I first heard schools were no longer going to teach cursive writing in school. I could not believe it! I write letters to my granddaughter and grandson since they live states away from us. Now that my granddaughter is 9 years old, she can read cursive well and is trying to write her letters in cursive too. I am so happy about that. It is a beautiful art and you Susan, explained so well how we each felt when we first began writing in cursive. Adding our own little curly cue lines to make it our own unique writing was so fun and fulfilling and still is. I am on a mission to keep handwriting alive in any way I can, in my world. Your handwriting is gorgeous! Another reason I love stopping by to see you and collecting your books. Such great therapy coming here. Thank Y♥U!
♥Lee Ann
You’re welcome Lee Ann, thank you too!
I used to not like writing in cursive before. But now, in high school, my handwriting has gotten a little on the cursive side. Still sloppy, but I like it. Then I see this website while doing my homework, and learned a lot about cursive. It’s history kind of makes me want to learn actual cursive handwriting. Which I really do want to learn it. It’s really beautiful.
It’s like an art Ms. Cheesecake. xoxo
Susan, check out this news article I just found. There’s still some hope that cursive won’t completely disappear.
ajc.com/news/news/education/law-mandate-cursive-public-schools/nr6pZ/
YAY!
Hi Susan,
What kind of pen do you use for your book signings?
I forget the title, it’s just a little marking pen.
Funny, but I heard that schools were doing away with printing, and just start the children right into cursive. You wonder where it’s all going. I am amazed when I see the young people typing so well. I never took typing and I feel so handicapped. Oh, save all those handwritten papers from your children and parents. I love that you or your mother saved your writing as a child.
I know, sometimes I feel like my typing class was one of the only things I learned in high school that I still use!
I always think that handwriting is an art!
I want to learn it. And so, I try to see more paper or books which I can learn to write beautiful words. I believe that writing beautiful handwriting in a card or letter by myself and sending them to my overseas friends and relatives is rather meaningful than sending them by email.
I would like to try hard to learn more although I still A beginner now.
There are calligraphy classes you can take if you like. Google it for your area and see what comes. Happy New Year! xoxo
The second week in the school year when Hannah and Jackson, my twin grandchildren,were in the fifth grade, their teacher announced it was her birthday. She said, ” my present to myself is to teach you to improve your Cursive handwriting all year long.” She was one of their favorite teachers! Today, at age 13, they both write in Cursive. I am so proud of them both.
This is why I adore teachers . . . what they give is priceless. Cursive is art no matter what they say, drawing a W for the first time is just like drawing a flower. Would hate to see that first introduction of hand to brain go away. Because if it lasts long enough it can become hand to heart.
I love this post! My husband, Dale, and I have been mournfully lamenting the demise of handwriting in cursive. We “laugh” and say that some time in the future…our descendants will think we wrote in our journals in some sort of code! (Very sad really)
How will they ever be able to read historic documents?
But perhaps there is hope! Hubby belongs to a Facebook group of fountain pen fanciers (The Fountain Pen Network) and collectors that is growing in numbers every day. (Nearly 16,000!) They discuss fountain pens, their collections, penmanship, etc. You’d love it! I joined and like hubby, fountain pens are turning up on my desk and I use them to write real letters and cards. He is left-handed and has beautiful penmanship!
Cheers!
I’ve been trying to do my part to keep cursive alive – with fountain pens. They are all I carry. For a few years, I’ve been working on improving my penmanship – largely because of using fountain pens. (I have nearly 20, new and old.) Now and then I’ll leave parchment pages of written inspiration/goodwill lying around at work for others to find. Maybe they’ll take an interest, too. Here is a sample of where I am today:
tinyurl.com/j7z9gd5
Luv-lee, Dale!
Thank you, Susan! Shelley (the comment above) is my wonderful, enabling wife. The Fountain Pen Network gives me hope that cursive will not die. There are many, from 5 to 95 that are keeping this art alive and flourishing (no pun intended). More schools need to see the importance.
Love your dedication . . . lovely! Are you Dale? or is that your wife?
Yes, I am Dale. Shelley S. is my wife.
(My reply to your reply had the wrong email address. It auto-filled my wife’s for some reason and I didn’t notice. Sorry.)
My dad hated how I wrote, he said it was like a doctors writing, he could not make out what I was writing! He made me sit and write the alphabet over and over till my handwriting improved! Now I am pretty good at it and have done my xmas card envelopes in fancy print! Maybe one day I will write to you via snailmail and show you!
I completely agree with you about cursive handwriting and personal letters. I have several letters from my Grandma Eileen and Anna Katherine that I have in special places in my home. My mother Margaret, and mother-in-law Gwen’s handwriting could be made into their own font, they are so lovely.
I just finished reading your book A Fine Romance ( it was actually a gift to my parents for their 50th wedding anniversary this past New Year’s, but I had to read it before we parted), and I LOVED it. I am curious about how you write for your books. Do you write in a scrapbook that is the size of the book? Do you have scarp pages that you take notes on while you’re ‘in the field’, and then cmproduce your finish polished copy on your favorite watercolor paper? Lots of questions😉
I buy a blank diary, and just keep it day by day, write at night, in the car, in pubs, on benches ~ love it to be really immediate, a good reason to write as soon as you see something, or while you’re doing something. But I re-write it in my “good” handwriting before I publish it!
I just left a response, I thought, but now do not see it on the blog line.
I was busy, but I’m sure it’s coming soon! xoxo
Dear Susan,
The lettering in your books is done by hand, or have you created a typeface from your handwriting and type away?
Marybeth
I did make a font, and out of the 15 books I’ve done, two have been partly done in font . . . but I’ve found it’s not as fun to do as it is to handwrite. As long as my hand holds out, that’s how I’ll be doing it. More connection. Heart to hand to paper.💖
Hi Susan, what program or service did you use to create your custom font? I’ve been using an online one where you fill out a templateand upload it, but it only seems to be capable of printing – it can’t connect the letters for a cursive font. Looking for advice! Thanks!
That is not a font . . . it’s actually my handwriting. So I can’t help you with that! Sorry!
We learned the Palmer Method of handwriting in grade school and I loved it! We got little Certificates and most of us got A’s in it and did very well. I loved the lined paper, learning the art of it.
In college I did a term paper on graphology, the analysis of handwriting, very interesting!
It makes me so sad that they may stop teaching cursive, I hope that never happens, and I adore your printing and writing! Thank you, Denise
Yes, I think learning to write our name is our first “art” … learning to “draw” it just like when you draw a house! I would hate to see that hand to heart relationship disappear. World goes to fast. xoxo💖
My mother passed away on December 1st of this year and I put her handwritten “Peanut Butter Fudge” recipe on a shelf in my kitchen. I’m going to make a copy for my daughter to have too.
I’m so sorry Catherine. What a difficult year. I lost my mom in the spring. Recipes in our mom’s handwriting are so precious, meaningful reminders of beautiful moments in our lives.💞💞💞💞💞💞
I love keeping copies of my family member’s handwriting. I have framed handwritten recipes and handwriting samples taped in my Bible and other places. My Mom’s is especially precious to me as well as my Dad’s. I have samples of my siblings, my childrens and my grandbabies handwriting as well. I really enjoy your page because you really express my feelings about this. Thank you for putting the words I can’t seem to find a way to express into writing.
Treasures!💞
I LOVED writing class in elementary school- once a week! We had the sweetest teacher~ Mrs. Philips. And, of course, her writing was stunningly beautiful!❤✏🗒🖋
Isn’t it fun when you remember a teacher that inspired you?
When I went away to college, my mother wrote to me at least once a month. She had beautiful penmanship, but as an RN and a busy woman she used lots of abbreviations that made sense to her & folks in the medical profession, but I mostly I could only understand them in the context of the sentence. Sometimes I’d have to call her for decryption assistance!
My grandfather [who lived in North Battleford, Saskatchewan and me in Oklahoma] and I regularly wrote letters and he always signed his, Your Grandfather, Mike Odishaw. Like I didn’t know they were from him! But I loved our correspondence!
Charming! Maybe he was thinking of a faraway day when his ancestors might say “which grandfather?” Well done!
I was always quite proud of the fact that I won the “Best Handwriting” award in 8th grade! 😊 I love writing in cursive and always will! I also love to keep journals and write letters to friends, so my cursive writing will live on! ❤️
Penmanship, handwriting-I am passionate about it and have done research on the importance of continuing cursive instruction. Writing involves sensory integration-using sight and kinesthetics. Research has proven that writing something down actually helps you remember it. Writing literally makes connections in the brain.
I loved the practice of penmanship as a child. I taught penmanship as a teacher and encouraged my students at a time when some resisted its teaching because, they said, “Why? Computers-they don’t need to write.”
Well, my friends, a monkey can be taught to use a keyboard, but I don’t know that they’ve yet been able to teach a monkey to write!
Among my many inherited treasures are my great grandmother’s Spencerian penmanship books. She died when I was perhaps five. I only met her a few times so the memories are vague but these books, her pride in her work…and she won penmanship contests!
I have autograph books owned by family members dating back to 1900 and stacks of letters, some from people I never met and old postcard collections many with handwritten notes on the back all saved by my grandparents and then my parents. My great grandfather’s business ledgers, some old notebooks in his beautiful writing sit on my desk. I have my parents’ love letter exchanges. My father has been gone for 16 years, my mother for 11-I save them but have not yet read them. I hope these won’t meet a dumpster or recycle bin when I’m gone. I show them to my grown children with pride and emphasize the story these tell. They are ALL artists and so, I think, these treasures will be carried forward but at least one generation.
The recipe cards from both grandmothers and my mother…when I pull them out, I feel like they’re with me.
I love the distinctive writing of my different family members. My one grandmother, a consistent “t” like no other-you can’t miss this slash-kind of like Zorro’s “Z”! It’s bold, dramatic and slices through every piece of writing. My mother, her daughter, had a very different style, and they were very different people! Her writing had no slant, a practiced roundness, part cursive, part manuscript. My father was an architect. He seldom wrote in cursive, but oh, his architectural font-perfection.
My grandmother and mother saved my early writing. I recently showed my 8 year old granddaughter (via FaceTime-pandemic😔) a letter I wrote when I was her age-her jaw dropped. Penmanship is clearly no longer emphasized in school. Everyone is in such a hurry.
The first public elementary school I attended, gave each fifth grade a fountain pen. Cursive was taught in the third grade and I guess they assumed by fifth grade, a child could handle a fountain pen. We moved just as I entered the fourth grade. Among the things that made me sad about the move was knowing I wouldn’t get that coveted fountain pen. Gratefully, my mother decided to give me one.
Penmanship IS having a resurgence! People are recognizing it as a skill and an art form. Some schools who once removed cursive from the curriculum have added it once, again. Social media is full of photos showing different styles of writing. Books have flooded the market teaching different styles of penmanship: calligraphy, brush calligraphy, modern calligraphy, chalk lettering, architectural writing, Spencerian penmanship… And fountain pens, brush markers-so many tools of writing.
Thank you for not giving up on writing, on printing your books in your own hand. It makes them true treasures, and I feel like we know you on an entirely different level because of your writing.
It’s definitely art to a child forming his first letters, just like drawing a house, or a flower, and could lead to all kinds of things. Heart to hand . . .
One of my most treasured possessions is the letter my grandmother wrote about my Mom’s birth. I should frame it.
Put it behind glass that protects it from fading! Yes, wonderful idea!
I loved seeing this post. I have journaled for years…not so much about cursive writing but the love of writing. Since the pandemic and living in a new area, I’ve started my snail mail/ happy mail to friends that I would love to visit with. Remember, as a child, how excited we were to get a letter or package in the mail? That is still there for me and, I suspect, for others! 💖
Nowadays, and probably always, it’s a gift!